


Nobody Alive Can Do This

by KennaM



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Abuse of Authority, C-Sec, Deleted Scenes, Drabble, Extended Scene, Gen, Guns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5497427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaM/pseuds/KennaM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Extended shooting contest scene with Garrus from ME3, because that was <i>highly</i> illegal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody Alive Can Do This

Shepherd stared through the scope of the rifle, her muscles relaxing out of instinct. The presidium air breezed past her, kicked into motion by hundreds of cars racing by just a few meters above their heads. Below their feet, the suspended skywalk, and a 60-meter drop, lay the presidium lake.

From the corner of her eye, Shepherd could see Garrus balancing the slug bottle in his hand, testing the weight of it, preparing to throw. She had two options here, as far as she could tell. She could let him win this round, prove he was better than the mighty Shepherd and declare himself king of the hill – or she could take the shot.

She knew which one Garrus would prefer.

Shepherd turned her head, just a few inches, to look her friend square in the eyes. “Do it,” she said. She aligned her sight through the scope again, braced the butt of the gun firmly in her shoulder pocket, and prepared herself for the telltale sound of the slug bottle whooshing through the air.

She caught it in a millisecond, and traced its arc through the open presidium air for just a moment before squeezing the trigger. The glass shattered in a burst of reflected light and black ooze.

“Nobody alive, maybe,” Shepherd said as she moved the rifle from her shoulder, and straightened her back. She turned towards Garrus, whose expression bristled with either disbelief, or disappointment, and she flashed him a knowing grin. “But, technically, I died.”

“Yeah well, next time we’ll throw in a herd of rampaging klixen,” Garrus said. “That’s how you separate the rookies from the _pros_.” Disappointment, then, or at least feigned disappointment. Shepherd was pretty sure she caught a hint of pride in his voice, too.

She couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle at the mental image, though. “I don’t know how you’re gonna set that one up,” she said, “but I’ll hold you to it.”

“Might have to wait until after this whole war is done,” Garrus said. He held out a hand, and Shepherd passed the rifle over. It went, along with the box of slug bottles and the other rifle, onto the backseat of the car they’d commandeered for the trip. “Maybe Wrex can set us up with a few.”

A loud wail cut through the air before Shepherd could respond. She and Garrus turned to see a car, painted blue with the C-Sec logo emblazoned along the side, pulling up to the skywalk where they stood. It slowed to a halt and a human officer jumped out, pistol at the ready.

“Freeze!” he shouted. “Hands in the air!” His partner, another human, stepped out of the other side of the car and pointed her gun at them from over the hood.

Shepherd glanced sideways at Garrus, and neither of them moved.

“Uh,” Shepherd tried, “what seems to be the problem, officer?” She raised her hands up slightly, palms forward, and saw Garrus mimic her gesture.

“This area is strictly off-limits,” the officer explained. “And we have civilian reports of gunshots fired from this….” His eyes darted behind them, to the rifles lying strewn across the backseat of their car, and his grip on his weapon tightened.

Garrus took a half-step forward. “I’m sorry, officer,” he started to say, but Shepherd cut him off.

“We’re here on official Spectre business,” she said, lowering her hands. “It’s highly classified, but we don’t want any trouble. We were just leaving.”

The officer didn’t seem convinced, but his partner’s eyes widened, and she quickly lowered her gun. “Commander Shepherd,” she said automatically. “I’m sorry, we didn’t realize it was you.”

Her partner still eyed Shepherd and Garrus with suspicion, but slowly recognition began to dawn on his face. He hesitantly lowered his gun. “Commander,” he said. “We didn’t know you we were gonna find _you_ all the way up here. Can I ask what it is you’re investigating?”

Shepherd crossed her arms. “The details are classified, as I said,” she said. “And it’s nothing that concerns C-Sec.”

“Of course,” the officer intoned. He holstered his pistol, then stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying not to make eye contact. Finally, he took a step back to the waiting car. “I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

“You were just doing your job,” Shepherd said, “I understand.” She nodded, and watched as the car door slid shut and the thrusters began to fire. It lifted up off the skywalk, and joined the flow of traffic overhead.

Beside her, Garrus breathed a sigh of relief. “That was a close one,” he said. “Even after quitting C-Sec, they expect me to follow all their rules and regulations.”

Shepherd grinned, and turned to slap him hard on the shoulder. “Look at that, Vakarian,” she said. “Didn’t even go swimming and I _still_ had to save your ass.”


End file.
